Nations and Nationalities in Europe

Rule by the people and for the people. This is a common phrase used by many today to describe the  variety of democratic political institutions found all over the globe today. While nearly all  democracies outside of Europe model the beginnings of their form of government to the United  States and more specifically   to the U.S. Constitution, for democracies within Europe, the beginnings  are traced even farther back in time   to embrace two different traditions. One of these traditions  being the English Constitution primarily involving the Magna Carta, and the other tradition  revolving around the French Revolution. In comparing these two as to which has ultimately proved stronger as the base for popular rule and  why, one can discern that the French revolutionary tradition has accomplished this for two reasons.  The first reason being due to the fact of it being more recent in historical context. Such an important  event having occurred less than 300 years ago has more relevance in the minds of many political  thinkers in our modern era than a similar event which occurred nearly 800 years ago. Mankind tends  to believe that his ideas improve over time and thus the later the idea, the better the idea it is. The second reason for the French tradition being the base for most forms of popular rule today is due  to it truly identifying and involving the three classes of the populace the aristocracy, middle-class,  and poor, back then as it does today, in the political and economic process of society. While both  traditions sought to limit the power of the monarch from being absolute over its subjects, it was the  French revolution which gave a strong voice to those neither rich nor poor. The English tradition on  the other hand, primarily involved the nobility and the monarch, much like a dispute being settled  today between the millionaires on one side and the billionaires on the other. Today, like in the late  18th century during the time of the French revolution, in most advanced and developing democratic  societies, the vast majority of the citizenry fall in the middle. Thus, it is their political interests and   perspectives which influence political discussion and change, just as it did  nearly 300 years ago.